What is Korean Fine Chili Powder ?
Korean red chili pepper powder is close to flakes but is finely ground similar to paprika granularity. It is called Goun-gochugaru 고운 고추가루 which literally means "fine chili powder." Or it's also called Gochujang yong Gochugaru 고추장용 고추가루 which means it's chili powder for making Gochujang.
So important use for this powder is to make Gochujang and then it is used to color water kimchi to have a light pink color. Fine chili powder can be used for dishes like tteokbokki and jjamppong.
Traditional Korean chefs use a combination of both fine and coarse in jjigae and soups but if you are not a serious cook or if you are not making gochujang or mul kimchi, chances are you probably won't need the fine gochukaru.
Not To Be Confused With
Regular Gochugaru that has bigger granules.
Where and What To Buy
You can buy fine red chili powder in many Korean grocery stores but may not be commonly available outside of them.
Buy ones that are made from chilis grown in Korea if you can.
How to Use/Cook
You can use the fine red chili powder in lieu of any Korean red chili powder but it's more expensive due to the additional work involved in grinding them so it's best to reserve them for special uses I mentioned above -
- Gochujang
- Water Kimchi
- Jjamppong
How to Clean/Store
It's best to store dried Korean red chili powder in the refrigerator. The bright red color of the Korean gochugaru will change over time and either get darker or turn pale orange. They are still edible but Gochugaru will lose not just its bright color but also the bright flavor after a year or so.
Thus, it's important to use fresh Gochugaru made from fresh crop for the best flavor.
How To Grow
You can grow chili plants from seeds. But buy seeds or plants where the chilis are meant to be made into Gochugaru.
You can buy the seeds from my Kimchimari Shop.
Nutrition/Health Info
Spicy chilis are supposed to boost your metabolism so some Koreans believe in eating spicy foods to lose weight.
